1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to editing media of visual art forms such as television shows and motion picture film and more particularly to a computer-based editing system for script-related editing that is significantly more efficient than conventional editing systems.
2. Prior Art
The principal function of the present invention is to provide means for practicing the art of "film" editing in a more efficient manner than the traditional "cut and paste" technique that has been in use since the turn of the century. The term "film" will be understood to embrace both traditional feature film works to be exhibited at least initially in motion picture theaters as well as television productions such as one-hour series films intended for prime-time television viewing.
It is well-known today that costs in the film production industry are escalating at a rapid pace and that the total elapsed time required to complete a production is an increasingly serious problem. Traditional film editing techniques constitute a significant time handicap and therefore contribute to both the cost and time problems of film production.
The present invention permits a "dynamic" form of film editing in which most editing decisions may be made while viewing the material being played at normal speed. A major advantage of editing with the present invention is that it facilitates a style of edit decision-making which permits low cost presentation of various versions of the work for comparison.
The only relevant prior art patent known to the applicant is U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,757 to Ettlinger, the inventor herein. Although there are a number of patentable differences between the present invention and that disclosed in the aforementioned Patent, one significant distinction pertains to the manner in which the material to be edited is correlated to a useable reference to which the user can readily refer. More specifically, in the present invention the work is correlated to a representation of the actual script on a line-by-line basis. The present invention utilizes a unique editing display which emulates a shooting script having separate "takes" identified and also having each line of script dialogue identified. This feature provides the user with a more practicaal editing tool which is also more efficient. No prior art computer-based editing system known to the applicant, provides such highly advantageous script correlation.